3000W Chinese Gensets Info.

professor95 wrote:

what did that guy that died do wrong with his generator's ground?

I didn't mean to mislead anybody..... the guy who died in my example was not someone I know or a situation I actually knew about. It was a supposition to support an example.

As to what the guy in my example did wrong? He did not have a grounding connection from the RV to ground - thus, when the electrical fault occured that caused the "hot" side of the generator output to come in contact with the RV's metal framework, it was he that provided the final connection path to ground by touching the "hot" RV and ground at the same time. In theory, he would have had the full voltage and amperage of the generator going through his body. Be aware that it only takes a few milliampres of current flowing through the SA node of the heart to disrupt the electrical rhythm that we depend upon for life. This disruption causes the heart to behave like a bowl of Jello and we will die in about 6 minutes unless the heart rhythm can be restored.

I do have a true first hand experience supported story about a guy who was killed like this - but I will spare you the details. The majority of my knowledge on this subject comes from the days I was a Cardiac Tech and EMT-A Instructor running with my local EMS unit.

When you are connected to shore or park power, your RV is grounded through the electrical cord. When you are using a generator, you have no physical connection to ground unless you create one.

thanks Professor for getting back,scary stuff,i understand it better
now,,,what if the generators hot wire comes in contact with the rv's metal framework when you are driving on the road? ,,are the tires enough to act as a ground?